Deep concern about the high Australian dollar has driven the Reserve Bank to cut its cash rate to the lowest level on record, a cut quickly passed on by all but one of the big banks.

The board acted on Tuesday without waiting to know what was in next week’s budget after being told that the mining investment boom might have peaked and there was insufficient activity elsewhere in the economy to take its place. Information supplied to the bank by mining companies suggested the peak “may well be upon us”. Read more